Rolex and Patek break records at Sotheby’s watch sale

Also taking centre stage was one of the most complicated watches in history

Josh Corder

May 13, 2019

13May2019

Josh Corder

Sotheby’s Geneva just had the “Important Watches” sale, with vintage watches you never knew you wanted

Thanks to brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe, the sale gathered $9 million

Also taking centre stage was a Richard Mille watch, one of the most complicated watches in history

Ask a well-versed watch fan what their dream watch is, and many would say ‘a Rolex Daytona’. And for a lucky few, that dream was realized at Sotheby’s Geneva over the weekend.

The ‘Gold 6239’ Daytona from the 60s/70s set a landmark price of $450,000, over triple the estimate price. It’s clear to see why though, not only are all Daytonas legendary, this one has a unique black dial, and a gold brick bracelet which is near unheard of for Daytonas like this. Only 300 versions of this yellow gold watch exist, which is around 2.5% of all ref.6239s.

However, if that Daytona is not exclusive enough, take a look at the Patek Philippe ref.2397, the first perpetual calendar with centre seconds in history. This watch clocked in at $3.4 million, around a million over the estimate.

Such a high price tag for an understated watch may take a bit of explaining. This Patek has a ‘Vichet’ case of 18k pink gold, it’s a case variant that’s a bit slimmer and longer than the ‘Wenger’ variant. According to Sotheby’s research, only 20 of these moon phase watches exist in the world.

If that Patek was a bit too subtle for your style, take a look now at the Richard Mille ref.RM008. Sotheby’s explains that this F1-inspired piece is composed of over 500 parts, parts which allow for the split second chronograph function, torque indicator, tourbillon carriage, and features which make the chronograph jump extra smooth.

Richard Mille are also proud of how light this platinum piece is, stating how the tourbillion carriage weighs only 0.34g. This piece went for just shy of US$370,000.